


The Right Thing To Do

by Ink_Gypsy



Category: LOTR RPS
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-03
Updated: 2010-03-03
Packaged: 2017-10-07 17:03:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/67206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Gypsy/pseuds/Ink_Gypsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first Mother's Day after Sean leaves Christine is a difficult one for him until Elijah gets him to open up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Right Thing To Do

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Mother's Day, May 2008, and dedicated to my mother, whom I lost in 1998. I love you, Mom, and still miss you so very much.

Despite his attempts to hide it, it was obvious to Elijah that something was bothering Sean. Normally he could read his lover like the proverbial book, so not being able to divine the problem without asking Sean was bugging the hell out of Elijah.

The day had started out well enough. Since Debbie lived so close, Sean suggested they deliver her Mother's Day gift in person, but Elijah vetoed the idea, not wanting it to seem like they were playing favorites. Anna lived in Idaho, and if they couldn't be with her, too, they wouldn't be with either of them. They decided the only fair thing to do was to treat both mothers exactly the same, so they sent each of them flowers and planned to follow up with phone calls once they knew their gifts had been delivered. The message on the cards for both moms was to be exactly the same: _Happy Mother's Day. Much love from your sons, Sean and Elijah._

When they called her, Debbie had made a special point of telling them how much the message meant to her, saying that she already thought of Sean as her son, but how lovely it was to know he felt the same way. Anna's response had been a little more reserved, polite, but with a definite hint of frost at the sentiment. He and Elijah had been together for a year, and still Sean's mother had yet to accept her son's choice of partner. Elijah wondered if she ever would.

At first Elijah thought Anna's coolness toward him on the phone had been the cause of Sean's less than cheery mood. "It doesn't matter, Irish," he told Sean, and meant it. "I want her to like me, and I'm not going to give up until she does. You know how determined I can be when I want something, so eventually I'm going to wear her down. You'll see." When his little pep talk didn't put a smile on Sean's face he said, "Okay, Sean, I'm tired of waiting for you to tell me what's going on with you, so I'm just going to come right out and ask. What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sean replied, not quite looking Elijah in the eye, "nothing's wrong."

"The fuck there isn't," Elijah challenged him. "You've been moping around here all morning. If it's because of your mother's attitude toward me, I told you, I'm going to win her over if it takes the rest of my life."

Sean shook his head. "I know you will, but it has nothing to do with my mom."

"Then what?" Elijah asked, his voice softening. "When we went into this, we said it was going to be for better or worse, so if you have a problem, if something's hurting you, I need to know about it so I can help. " He drew his hand down Sean's cheek, his touch a gentle caress. "Whatever it is, it can't be as bad as you think, and even if it is...don't you know by now that there's nothing you can't tell me?"

Sean looked into Elijah's eyes for a full half minute before speaking. "I sent Chris flowers for Mother's Day."

Elijah had braced himself for the worst, and found himself sighing in relief. He was about to say, _Fuck, is that all?_ but held his tongue. Admitting this had been difficult for Sean. This was the first Mother's Day since he'd left Christine, and Elijah kicked himself for not realizing how hard this day was going to be on the man he loved. "That was a really nice thing for you to do," he finally said, his voice as gentle as his touch had been. "But why didn't you tell me? Did you think I'd be upset?"

"I wasn't sure," Sean admitted. "You and I are a couple now. She's not my wife anymore."

Elijah wrapped his arms around Sean's neck and planted a soft kiss on his lips. "But she's the mother of your children, and she's always going to be that, whether you're together or not. Letting her know how much you appreciate the gifts she gave you, your three beautiful daughters...Seanie, it was the right thing to do." Because Sean seemed temporarily lost for words, Elijah asked, "So did she like them?"

Sean shrugged. "Dunno."

Elijah smiled. "Then don't you think you'd better call her and find out? And shame on you for not doing it sooner." Putting his hands on Sean's shoulders, he turned him in the direction of the phone and pushed him toward it. "Go on. March."

Sean walked to the phone slowly, then stopped and turned back to look at Elijah. "Not many people would be so understanding, Elijah. Th—"

Elijah interrupted before Sean could thank him. "Just dial the phone, Astin," he said quickly, "before Mother's Day is over." He stood there watching until Sean picked up the receiver, then went outside, leaving Sean alone to make his call.


End file.
